Theanore sat by the pool in the cavern and sighed. Marinus has been gone for a month and two weeks now. Tania had told her that he was still alive, but she also told her he was alone. And that after telling her he was with a new travelling companion.

Then there was the missive the unknown boy, Luca, has sent her mother. A missive saying that Marinus was playing as a decoy for a tribe of angry mermaids. Theanore wanted to help, but her mother had told her to stay at the grotto and manage it while she went to save both boys.

Rip came to Theanore, and she hugged him close to herself. Her mother had gone to this Luca first, as his legs are very injured. Tania had said that Marinus was unharmed, but tired. There was only one person powerful enough to help now. But would grandpa Thinker forgive her for harboring Darion?

Still, Theanore had to try. Every second she dallied was a second Marinus spend cold and alone out in the sea. Theanore took the paper that she had placed to the side and the quill and began to write.

Dear grandpa Thinker,

It is me, Theanore. I have been very good. I don’t protest against my bedtimes, and I eat mint to keep my teeth healthy. Furthermore, I know you think that harboring Darion is bad, but it really isn’t.

He paid for the damages. No one died. Plus, you let him get hurt. The way I see it, grandpa Thinker, he is punished enough. Please forgive him and help me.

Mari went to get life-extending rings from the sea witch Alba. But she is dead now, and a tribe of mermaids is trying to catch him. You have an army, mermaids among them. Only you can save him now.

Please be kind, as I know you can be,

Theanore the nymph.

Finishing the letter, Theanore placed it in an envelope together with a mana crystal and watched it as it disappeared.

“I hope he is not still mad at me. Rip, do you want to go see Petunia? She might want a belly rub.” Said Theanore, picking up the murder muffin and going towards the giant hamster enclosure.

At Alerion, grandpa Thinker was looking at the bad list. His hand twitched. He wanted to place Theanore on it and this time grandma Thinker agreed, but his heart clanged every time he dipped the quill in the ink pot.

Now that the damages were paid, and grandpa Thinker had another hundred million to his mana regen, it had been easy to make three new factories. Gremlins and worker elves alike worked in the new buildings that even had rest stations in them. Anyone else would have let the crime go. Anyone else wouldn’t have risked a war with Esmer von Kleindorf.

But, darn it all, this was treason. Of the highest caliber, at that. Three factories had been damaged beyond repair. Lives had been risked. Why couldn’t Theanore understand that? Sure, she was young and didn’t understand much of the world. But why was no one explaining to her the severity of what had transpired?

A blue light appeared, and grandpa Thinker saw a letter. It was stamped with a cat’s paw. He shook his head and grinned despite himself. It was from Theanore. Probably another letter to make Darion’s case and beg for a trial.

He thought about not opening it but reconsidered. This would be the last letter he opened from her. And thereafter, if she wasn’t writing to him to tell him she was sending the gremlin over, he would denounce her again. And after it would be a war with Esmer, God help him.

He began to read. He chuckled at the bedtimes comment and nodded at the mint eating. He added a plus one to her good list without thinking, and then he frowned as he read the same old arguments about Darion. He was just about to hit the denounce button when he read about Marinus.

With a shaky hand, he let the letter down. He needed advice and the only one who could give it to him was his wife. He took the letter and went searching for her. He found her with the deer, grooming them.

“Granny, read this and tell me what you think.” Said grandpa Thinker as he passed the letter to grandma Thinker. She quickly scanned the content and looked down to the ground.

“Treachery has to be punished.” She said stubbornly.

“If it wasn’t for those two children, we would still be dancing around each other. You couldn’t stand to look at me, admit it. That is why you spent so much time as a quill.”

“Be as it may.” Began grandma Thinker, not denying the accusation. “What Darion did was inexcusable. The question is, does Marinus have to pay for it?”

Both elderly people grew silent at that. They loved children, even if they sometimes placed their names on the bad list. And these two children? Them, they adored.

“Why don’t we give the gremlin a trial like I originally promised, granny? He will still be found guilty. And he already paid for the damage. Marinus needs us now.” Said grandpa Thinker.

“You are growing soft, Albert.” Said grandma Thinker. “Let us go save our grandson.”

With this, the two saddled two deer and mounted them. Two worker elves were quick to open the door to the stable and the two beings exited it with snow following them. Yule was just around the corner and the cold would make the rescue harder, but at least the waters near the shore hadn’t frozen over in the last thousand years. There was no danger of Marinus dying from the cold.

Their deer’s noses led them to an island surrounded by mermaids. They threw spears at them, but the two elderly people still managed to land. There, on a rock, smiling brightly, was Marinus.

“I thought no one was coming.” Said the merman and grandpa Thinker flicked his nose.

“No grandson of mine is going to stay alone in such a dire situation. Now, what did you do to anger the chief of these mermaids?” Asked grandpa Thinker and Marinus began to explain, happy that his family had grown even more.